noun

• 1

  (also humpback whale)

  A baleen whale that has a hump (instead of a dorsal fin) and long white flippers. It is noted for its lengthy vocalizations or “songs.”.

  Megaptera novaeangliae, family Balaenopteridae

  ‘Visitors to the site where a humpback whale beached itself at the weekend were shocked to discover the mammal had already been put down yesterday.’

  More example sentences

  • ‘The humpback whale creates the most complex, long-lasting, repetitive sound patterns of any non-human animal on our planet.’
  • ‘For a musician it would be difficult, if not impossible, to define the sounds of the humpback whale without using musical terms.’
  • ‘It's not unusual to see dolphins cavorting near the boat when in the tropics, but during one trip we saw a humpback whale lumbering along in its own beautiful way.’
  • ‘About a dozen whales have been spotted to date, mostly humpbacks, and five have been darted.’
• 2

  (also humpback salmon)

  another term for pink salmon

• 3

  another term for hunchback

  More example sentences

  • ‘Stricken with Pott's disease when just a boy, he scarcely grew taller after that and was left with a humpback created by a deformed spine.’